Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance

This highly-illustrated text, which will become the standard reference for those interested in cardiovascular MRI, is written by a dynamic team of experts who use MRI for the diagnosis and evaluation of progression of cardiac disease in their patients. Recent research and publications show that high-resolution magnetic resonance has the potential to image coronary plaque; new contrast agents are aiding the diagnosis of underlying cardiac disease states; delayed-enhancement MRI helps in the diagnosis of fibrosis associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; and that cardiac MRI has a role in percutaneous coronary interventions. All aspects of heart disease are covered in substantial detail.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has slowly evolved from a research tool to become a clinical mainstay of diagnostic imaging for several medical disciplines. CMR continues to play an increasingly important role in the understanding of cardiac disease progression and clinical management algorithms. The most recent advances in hardware and pulse sequence design now allow for a truly impressive range of cardiac and vascular imaging opportunities that have improved existing applications and have extended the utility of CMR well beyond anatomic diagnostic studies. Despite these advances and continued progress in clinical studies, however, CMR has yet to play a primary role in the clinical management of patients with cardiovascular disease. In part, the lack of complete clinical acceptance may be related to the often intimidating technical enigma of CMR and/or the dizzying array of new and evolving applications that appear in the literature on a weekly to monthly basis. Thus, concise dissemination of this new and rapidly evolving body of information is critical for widespread growth of CMR. Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance consolidates this wide and growing body of information into a single balanced source. This highly illustrated text provides the most recent and practical information on established foundational applications of CMR as well as giving the reader a look into the future through the presentation of state-of-the-art therapeutic applications in various stages of development. Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance targets a broad readership as the editors include chapters authored by both academic and private practice clinicians, academic and industrial biomedical engineers and MR technologists. Ergin Atalar, Johns Hopkins University, USA, David A Bluemke, Johns Hopkins Hospital, USA, Christina M Bove, University of Virginia Health System, USA, James R Brookeman, University of Virgi